Adrian Levy

Adrian Mourby

Adrian Orchard

Adrian Penketh

Adrian Raine

Adrian Reynolds is a hugely talented illustrator who has worked on many picture books,including the wonderful Harry stories and four adventures featuring Pete and Polo. Adrian lives in Cambridge

Adrian Reynolds

Adrian Reynolds was born in South Wales, and after studying at Swansea College of Art and later at Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology, Adrian worked at Heffers Children's Book Shop before beginning to write and illustrate his own picture books. 
 
Adrian's very first books were published in 1997 and since then he has published more than forty titles, including the hugely popular Harry And The Bucketful Of Dinosaurs series, written by Ian Whybrow. He has won the Red House Picture Book Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Award.

Adrian Smith was born in Hackney, East London, on 27th February 1957. He joined Iron Maiden at the end of 1980. Adrian is the band member who has collaborated on the most side projects outside of Iron Maiden, as well as writing and recording a series of albums in the early '90s, before rejoining the band. Iron Maiden have sold 90 million albums, and tour the world playing to millions of fans. Onstage, Adrian uses Jackson and Gibson guitars. Offstage, he is an avid tennis player, however his main hobby is fishing. He takes his rod and gear out on tour with him wherever he goes. This is his first book.

Adrian Smith

Adrian Sykes

Adrian Tchaikovsky is the author of the acclaimed ten-book Shadows of the Apt series starting with Empire in Black and Gold, published by Tor UK. His other works for Tor UK include novels Guns of the Dawn, Children of Time, Children of Ruin and the Echoes of the Fall series starting with The Tiger and the Wolf. He has won the Arthur C Clarke and Robert Holdstock awards.

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Adrian Tinniswood is professorial research fellow in history at the University of Buckingham, adjunct professor of history at Maynooth University and the author of many books on British history, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Long Weekend. He was awarded an OBE for services to heritage, and lives in the west of Ireland.

Adrian Tinniswood

Adrian Webster

Adrian Wooldridge is the global business columnist at Bloomberg Opinion. Previously, he worked for the Economist for thirty-two years, including stints as its Lexington, Schumpeter and Bagehot columnist. He earned a doctorate in history from Oxford University, where he was a Fellow of All Souls College. He is the author or co-author of 11 other books, including The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy made the Modern World (2021).

Adrian Wooldridge

Adriana Arden

Adriana Hunter has translated more than one hundred books, and has won or been shortlisted for numerous translation prizes, most recently as the runner-up for the 2024 Scott Moncrieff Prize for her translation of Hervé Le Tellier’s The Anomaly. She lives in Kent, England.

Adriana Hunter

Adriana Mather is the author of the New York Times bestselling How to Hang a Witch series and the Killing November series. Adriana is also an actor and producer and co-owns Zombot Pictures, a production company that makes feature films.

Adriana Mather

Adriana Rabinovich spent her childhood in Colombia, then moved to the US before coming to Britain in 1984. Following a career in design and marketing, Adriana trained at Leith's School of Food and Wine, then set up her own catering business, followed by The Little Red Barn in 1996. When her daughter was diagnosed with Coeliac disease at the age of eighteen months, Adriana used her catering and cooking knowledge to create recipes that not only worked for Ruthie's needs but appealed to children. The result is The Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids.

Adriana Rabinovich

Adriana Trigiani is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one books of fiction and nonfiction published in thirty-eight languages. In 2023, President Sergio Mattarella of Italy named her Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia. She is an award-winning playwright, television writer/producer, and filmmaker. Among her screen credits, Trigiani wrote and directed the major motion picture adaptation of her debut novel, Big Stone Gap. Adriana grew up in Appalachia, in the mountains of southwest Virginia, where she cofounded the Origin Project, an in-school writing program. Trigiani is honored to serve on the New York State Council on the Arts. She lives in Greenwich Village with her family. 
 
 Listen to Adriana and the luminaries of our times discuss the books that built their souls on the You Are What You Read podcast, available everywhere. https://linktr.ee/youarewhatyoureadpodcast

Adriana Trigiani

Adrienne  Kennaway

Adrienne Adhami is a leading well-being coach and keynote speaker, known for the motivational podcast Power Hour and the Modern Wellness Podcast. 
 
Adrienne is a sought-after brand advisor, specialising in well-being technology, strategy and innovation. She has delivered workshops and keynote speeches to brands including Apple, Spotify, Bupa and Range Rover. Her expertise ranges from achieving high performance to goal-setting and decision-making. 
 
Adrienne’s debut book, Power Hour, was published in 2020 and has since been translated into four languages. Listed as one of the ‘Top 25 Black Entrepreneurs to Watch’ by HSBC and UKBBS, Adrienne is a trailblazer inspiring individuals and organisations to reach their full potential. Decisions That Matter is her second book.

Adrienne Adhami

In 1995 Adrienne Brodeur co-founded, along with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the National Magazine Award-winning fiction magazine Zoetrope: All-Story. She then worked as a book editor in New York for several years, and is currently the Executive Director of the Aspen Words, a literary non-profit and part of the Aspen Institute in Colorado. She divides her time between New York City and Cape Cod.

Adrienne Brodeur

Adrienne Brodeur is the author of the memoir Wild Game, which is in development as a Netflix film. She founded the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with Francis Ford Coppola, and currently serves as executive director of Aspen Words, a literary nonprofit and program of the Aspen Institute. She splits her time between Cambridge and Cape Cod, where she lives with her husband and children.

As well as hosting the weekly Power Hour podcast, Adrienne Adhami is a leading wellness professional, TEDx speaker and a voice of inspiration, encouragement and motivation. Adrienne delivers talks and workshops to some of the world’s largest organisations and she regularly hosts live events and panel discussions. She has partnered with brands such as Adidas, Origins, Virgin Sport, Google and Apple and has been featured in ELLE magazine and the Telegraph, as well as being named a ‘New Face of Wellness’ by British VOGUE.

Adrienne Herbert

ADELE GERAS was born in Jerusalem and travelled widely as a child. She started writing over twenty-five years ago and has published more than 80 titles. Ithaka was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Whitbread Chirldren's Book Award. She lives in Manchester with her husband and has two grown-up daughters and two grandchildren.

Adèle Geras

Aeham Ahmad, born in Damascus in 1988, grew up in Yarmouk, a suburb of Damascus. From the age of four onwards his father encouraged his musical talent and at seven he received piano lessons at the Arab Institute in Damascus. He later studied music education in Homs and worked as a music teacher. 
 
In 2015 he was forced to flee to Germany because of the war in Syria. Today he lives with his family in Wiesbaden and gives concerts all over Europe. In December 2015, Ahmad was awarded the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights. 
 
This is his first book.

Aeham Ahmad

Aemilia Lanyer

Aeneas Gunn

Aerosmith

Aeschylus

Aesop lived in the early sixth century BC on the island of Samos, which lies off the coast of modern Turkey. He originally came from Thrace which was a separate country in those days, though it now forms part of Greece and Bulgaria. Very little is known about his life except that he worked as a slave on Samos for a master called Iadmon, and that he became a very famous storyteller. He was so famous that almost any fable which could have been told by him became attributed to him.

Aesop

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Bram Stoker

Michael Fassbender stars in this multi-voice reading of Bram Stoker’s legendary tale 
 
First published in 1897, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is widely regarded as the best gothic horror novel of all time. The popularity of the world’s most notorious vampire, Count Dracula, has ensured that it has never been out of print, and it remains a timeless classic. 
 
In this epistolary novel, journal entries, letters, newspaper clippings and a ship's log interweave to form an incredible, thrilling story, as the various protagonists intimately recount the epic legend of the Transylvanian count. 
 
The tale begins with Jonathan Harker’s journal as the young, newly qualified solicitor travels to the remote Carpathian Mountains to meet a wealthy client. But as he explores Castle Dracula, he discovers more than he dares contemplate, and learns the terrible truth about his host. 
 
Meanwhile in England, his fiancée Mina Murray fears for his safety. An empty foreign schooner arrives in Whitby, and Mina's apprehension grows as a mysterious illness affects her dear friend Lucy. When Lucy’s health deteriorates rapidly, Dr Seward calls in the help of Professor Van Helsing, who sets a plan in motion to capture Dracula. 
 
With time running out, Jonathan, Van Helsing, Dr Seward and Mina must embark on a perilous journey to Transylvania and come face to face with the Vampire King… 
 
This 10-part series features Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender as Jonathan Harker, James D’Arcy as Dr Seward, Gillian Kearney as Mina Murray and James Greene as Van Helsing.

Dracula

A BBC Radio 4 reading starring Michael Fassbender

Henrik Ibsen

Often described as 'the father of realism', Henrik Ibsen was a pioneer of modernist drama. He influenced playwrights as diverse as George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. 
 
 Included in this collection are adaptations of his tragicomic masterpiece The Wild Duck, his complex and compelling play Rosmersholm, the epic drama Brand and the tragedy John Gabriel Borkman. Ibsen's A Doll's House is relocated to 1879 India in Tanika Gupta's Audio Drama Award-winning dramatisation, while the provocative and scandalous Ghosts is adapted by Richard Eyre, with the cast of his Olivier Award-winning Almeida Theatre production. 
 
Also featured are vibrant dramatisations of Hedda Gabler, whose desperate heroine is trapped in a suffocating marriage; The Lady from the Sea, about a woman torn between security and passion; and An Enemy of the People, in which a whistleblower reveals an inconvenient truth and is vilified for it. 
 
The casts of these stunning dramas include David Threlfall, Nicholas Farrell, Helen Baxendale, Indira Varma, Lesley Manville and Harriet Walter. 
 
Track listing: 
The Wild Duck 
Rosmersholm 
Brand 
John Gabriel Borkman 
A Doll's House 
Ghosts 
Hedda Gabler 
The Lady from the Sea 
An Enemy of the People

Henrik Ibsen: Nine full-cast BBC radio dramatisations

William Shakespeare

Eight full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies 
 
Full of merriment, mayhem, mischief and mistaken identity, here are eight iconic radio productions of Shakespeare's most magical comedies, featuring star casts and introduced by Sir Richard Eyre. 
 
Much Ado About Nothing 
Shakespeare's delightful comedy sparkles with the verbal sparring of our two reluctant lovers in a world where nothing is quite what it seems. David Tennant and Samantha Spiro star as Benedick and Beatrice. 
 
As You Like It 
The Forest of Arden resonates with declarations of love in this joyous pastoral comedy, starring Helena Bonham Carter as Rosalind, David Morrissey as Orlando and Natasha Little as Celia. 
 
A Midsummer Night's Dream 
In this delightful comic fantasy, four young lovers and a troupe of actors have a bewitching encounter with Fairyland. Starring David Threlfall as Theseus/Oberon, Sylvestra Le Touzel as Titania/Hippolyta and Amanda Root as Hermia. 
 
The Merchant of Venice 
Shakespeare's thrilling courtroom drama explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice. Starring Warren Mitchell as Shylock, with Martin Jarvis as Antonio, Juliet Aubrey as Portia and Samuel West as Bassanio. 
 
Twelfth Night 
On the night when all the world is turned on its head, girls become boys and women lust after women, in this most optimistic of Shakespeare's comedies. Michael Maloney stars as Orsino and Anne-Marie Duff as Viola. 
 
The Tempest 
A ship at sea and an enchanted island are the settings for this allegorical tale of betrayal, sorcery, revenge and reconciliation. Starring Philip Madoc as Prospero and Nina Wadia as Ariel. 
 
The Taming of the Shrew 
Farce, disguise, elaborate role-playing and acerbic exchanges of wit combine to make up an extraordinary love story that still sparks controversy 400 years after it was written. Gerard McSorley stars as Petruchio and Ruth Mitchell as Katherina. 
 
All's Well That Ends Well 
This intriguing play tells of the questionable course of action a young woman takes to win the hand of the man she loves. Emma Fielding stars as Helena, with Siân Phillips, Miriam Margolyes, Richard Griffiths and Simon Russell Beale.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Eight Comedies

Four full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's finest history plays 
 
Introduced by Sir Richard Eyre, these four iconic productions, featuring star casts, bring Shakespeare's gripping histories to life in all their rich complexity. 
 
Henry IV, Part One 
Young Prince Hal struggles with his responsibilities as heir to the throne, preferring the company of the dissolute Falstaff. But when England is threatened with rebellion, will he do his duty? Father and son Julian Glover and Jamie Glover star as King Henry and Prince Hal, with Timothy West as Falstaff. 
 
Henry IV, Part Two 
The realm is still in danger, and the King is dying. It is time for Prince Hal to fulfil his royal destiny - but what will become of his old friend, Falstaff? Starring Julian Glover, Jamie Glover and Timothy West. 
 
Richard II 
This lyrically tragic history encompasses themes of nobility and kingship, as King Richard is brought to his own destruction - but was he justly punished for his excesses, or a misunderstood victim? Samuel West stars as Richard II, with Joss Ackland as John of Gaunt and Damian Lewis as Bolingbroke. 
 
Pericles 
Featuring world music and a multicultural cast, this timeless tale with a contemporary twist features tyrants, incest, murder, young love, and a great hero cruelly separated from his wife and daughter. Will he ever see them again? Benjamin Zephaniah stars as the narrator, Gower.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Four History Plays

Six full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's classic tragedies 
 
Treachery, betrayal and fatal power struggles are among the themes of these six iconic productions of Shakespeare's timeless tragedies. Featuring all-star casts, they are introduced by Sir Richard Eyre. 
 
Hamlet 
Shakespeare's powerfully poetic tragedy of murder, madness and revenge stars Michael Sheen as the Prince of Denmark, with Kenneth Cranham as Claudius and Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude. 
 
Macbeth 
In this notorious 'Scottish play', a lust for power and the prophecy of three witches transform a brave nobleman into a traitor and murderous tyrant. Ken Stott stars as Macbeth and Phyllis Logan as Lady Macbeth. 
 
King Lear 
The tragic consequences of evil triumphing over truth, and of the vanity of old age, are set in motion when Lear banishes his favourite daughter, Cordelia, from court. Starring Corin Redgrave as King Lear, with David Troughton, Geraldine James and Robert Glenister. 
 
Othello 
Evil cunning perverts a once noble mind, as heroic general Othello is destroyed by both his own jealousy and the machinations of the devious Iago. Ray Fearon stars as Othello, with James Frain as Iago. 
 
Romeo and Juliet 
An updated version of Shakespeare's tragedy of feuding families and doomed love, set in modern Verona and starring Douglas Henshall as Romeo and Sophie Dahl as Juliet. 
 
Cymbeline 
When Cymbeline discovers his daughter Imogen's secret marriage to Posthumus, he banishes her husband. But Posthumus's boasts of his wife's chastity provoke lachimo to attempt her seduction. Bill Wallis stars as Cymbeline.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Six Tragedies

Three full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's most famous Roman plays 
 
Featuring all-star casts and introduced by Sir Richard Eyre, these three iconic productions of Shakespeare's dynamic Roman histories are full of political intrigue, passion and tragedy. 
 
Julius Caesar 
This updated version of Shakespeare's classic play is set in Italy in 1925. Julius Caesar, a new Roman dictator, has swept to power, and his way is clear to assume total control - unless a coup by Cassius and Brutus can alter the tide of history. Nicholas Farrell stars as Brutus and Gerard Murphy as Julius Caesar. 
 
Coriolanus 
When Rome's greatest hero, the warrior Coriolanus, divides the people and the patricians through his arrogance, he is driven into exile. Samuel West stars as Coriolanus, with Susannah York as Volumnia. 
 
Antony and Cleopatra 
Shakespeare's last great tragedy is an action epic set against the political backdrop of the Roman Empire and the centre of Egyptian culture, Alexandria. But at the heart of the play is the story of what happens when two people fall in love. Starring Frances Barber as Cleopatra and David Harewood as Mark Antony.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Three Roman Plays

Evelyn Waugh

Jeremy Front

Evelyn Waugh is one of the pre-eminent English novelists of the 20th Century. This collection comprises six of his finest works, dramatised by award-winning writer Jeremy Front. 
 
Decline and Fall 
Paul Pennyfeather, an earnest, scholarly Oxford student, knows nothing of 1920's high-life - until one night he encounters The Bollinger Club... This darkly comic romp set in the early Jazz Age stars Kieran Hodgson, John Sessions, Emilia Fox and Tom Hollander. 
 
Brideshead Revisited 
During the Second World War, a disillusioned Captain Charles Ryder finds himself posted to Brideshead Castle: the scene of the happiest years of his life and the beginnings of his friendship with Sebastian Flyte. A classic tale of life, love and a forgotten era, starring Ben Miles, Jamie Bamber, Anne-Marie Duff and Toby Jones. 
 
Scoop 
Hapless journalist William Boot is mistakenly sent to report on a war in Africa, where he finds love and ends up in the middle of a revolution... Waugh's celebrated satire of newspaper life stars Rory Kinnear and Tim McInnerny. 
 
Sword of Honour (The Waugh Trilogy) 
This three-part dramatisation of Waugh's satirical masterpiece follows the comic adventures of Guy Crouchbank during World War II. In Men at Arms, Guy is scarred by a broken marriage and searching for a purpose to live. When war breaks out, he feels he may have at last found a cause worth fighting for. Officers and Gentlemen sees Guy sent home in disgrace following a misbegotten raid in Dakar. But his next posting takes him somewhere totally unexpected... In Unconditional Surrender, Guy is beginning to lose his idealism about the war - but his military career is revived with selection for a mission to Italy. 
 
Winner of Best Audio Drama (Adaptation) at the 2014 BBC Audio Drama Awards, this moving trilogy stars Paul Ready as Guy with Tim McInnerny as the Narrator, Tim Pigott-Smith as Brigadier Ritchie-Hook, Lee Ingleby as Trimmer and Lydia Leonard as Virginia. 
 
 
Text copyright © Evelyn Waugh 1928 (Decline and Fall), 1938 (Scoop), 1945 (Brideshead Revisited), 1952 (Men at Arms), 1955 (Officers and Gentlemen), 1961 (Unconditional Surrender). All rights reserved. 
 
Dramatised by Jeremy Front 
 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 October-10 November 2013 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Evelyn Waugh BBC Radio Drama Collection

Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited and other full-cast dramatisations

Martyn Wade

A witty and wonderful comedy of love and jealousy in high society Edwardian London, based on Ada Leverson's sparkling trilogy of novels 
 
London, 1908. Pretty, delightful Edith Ottley is married to pompous, patronising Bruce. She adores her son, Archie, and thinks herself content with life in her very new, very concise, very white flat in Knightsbridge. 
 
But when she meets the clever, charming and very handsome Aylmer Ross, the physical attraction between the two is electric and they fall madly in love. They could be the perfect couple, but Edith can't dismiss the fact she is Mrs Ottley... 
 
Over the course of 25 episodes, Bruce, Edith and Aylmer become locked in a curious, yet delightful, triangle. As Bruce embarks on his own amorous adventures, and Aylmer chafes at having to share Edith, can the trio resolve their romantic entanglements to everyone’s satisfaction? 
 
Adapted by acclaimed radio writer and dramatist Martyn Wade, this enchanting comedy drama stars Haydn Gwynne as Ada Leverson, Juliet Aubrey as Edith, Bertie Carvel and Ifan Meredith as Bruce and Jonathan Firth as Aylmer.

The Little Ottleys: A BBC Radio full-cast drama: The Complete Series 1-5

W. Somerset Maugham

BBC Radio 4 dramatisations and readings of Somerset Maugham's fiction - plus bonus programme Replay: Somerset Maugham 
 
William Somerset Maugham was one of the most successful English writers of the 20th Century, and remains the most adapted for film and TV. This collection includes eight of his novels, plays and short stories, as heard on BBC radio, as well as an illuminating interview with the author himself. 
 
The Moon and Sixpence - Respectable stockbroker Charles Strickland abandons his wife and children to live as a painter in Paris and Tahiti. Starring Ronald Pickup and Patrick Allen. 
 
The Painted Veil - First published in 1925 to a storm of protest, this is a haunting, poignant tale of one woman's spiritual awakening. Starring Sarah Smart and Nicholas Farrell. 
 
The Sacred Flame- Invalided following an air crash, Maurice is determined to remain cheerful. But his condition affects all those who are close to him. Starring Julian Glover, Wendy Hiller, Hannah Gordon and Janet Maw. 
 
Ashenden, Gentleman Spy - Ashenden, a writer by profession, returns from the First World War and is offered a position in the Secret Service. Five short stories based on Maugham's own wartime experiences, read byAlex Jennings. 
 
For Services Rendered- In this incisive state-of-the nation play, it is 1932, and the progressive Ardsley family seem to be managing their lives very well. But in reality, each of them is fighting for survival. Starring David Calder, Sian Thomas and Louise Brealey. 
 
The Narrow Corner - Sailing home from the East Indies, a doctor and his two companions are forced to seek shelter on the island of Kanda - where they encounter the beautiful, sultry Louise... Starring Garard Green, Owen Scott, Douglas Blackwell and Cara Kelly. 
 
Christmas Holiday - 1938, and Charley is looking forward to spending Christmas in Paris with his old school friend, Simon. But they are both ignorant of the storm clouds lowering over Europe... Starring Peter Rumney and Anthony Daniels. 
 
The Razor's Edge - After the First World War, Larry Darrell returns to Chicago but finds it difficult to fit back into society. To the dismay of his fiancée, Isabel, he heads for Paris and embarks on a spiritual quest. StarringNicholas Le Prevost, John Light and Megan Dodds. 
 
Replay: Somerset Maugham - Philip French presents an archive interview with Somerset Maugham, recorded in 1954 on the occasion of his 80th birthday. 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Somerset Maugham BBC Radio Collection

Eight full-cast dramatisations and readings

George Orwell

Mike Walker

Jonathan Holloway

A radio anthology of George Orwell's finest novels, memoirs and essays, plus four biographical dramas and a bonus documentary, The Road to Nineteen Eighty-Four 
 
Visionary author and journalist George Orwell was the man behind two of the best-loved and most influential novels of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. This collection celebrating his life and work features dramatisations of both these classic books, with stellar casts including Christopher Eccleston, Pippa Nixon, Tim Pigott-Smith, Tamsin Greig and Nicky Henson. 
 
Also included is a drama based on his autobiographical account of the Spanish Civil War, Homage to Catalonia, starring Joseph Millson and Lyndsey Marshal. Four biographical radio plays by Mike Walker and Jonathan Holloway - Burma, Dreaming, Loving and Jura - explore further episodes in Orwell's fascinating life, showing the disconnection between the man who was Eric Blair and the writer who was George Orwell. 
 
Timeless examples of his essays and journalism are showcased here, including 'A Hanging', 'Confessions of a Book Reviewer', 'My Country Right or Left', 'Pleasure Spots' and 'As I Please' (all read by Clive Merrison), while Joseph Millson narrates Down and Out in Paris and London, Orwell's vivid memoir of his time living among the poor in Europe's two great cities. 
 
Finally, in The Road to Nineteen Eighty-Four, David Aaronovitch examines what led avowed socialist George Orwell to write a book beloved of the Right, revealing how the novel grew from a forgotten political world shaped by the atom bomb. 
 
George Orwell worked for BBC Radio from August 1941 to November 1943, and even went on air himself. Sadly, none of the programmes in which he took part survive - in those days, radio was essentially a live medium, and broadcasts were not recorded for posterity. But Orwell's connection to the BBC remains a fascinating part of its wartime history. 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

George Orwell: A BBC Radio Collection

Including Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm and other dramas and readings

Margaret Oliphant

Kate Clanchy

Zena Foster

Elizabeth Proud

Three BBC radio adaptations of famous novels by the prolific 19th-century author Mrs Oliphant – plus an episode of Reading Aloud, with extracts from her autobiography 
 
Sometimes called ‘the feminist Trollope’, Margaret Oliphant wrote over 100 works of fiction in a wide variety of genres, ranging from novels of small-town life to historical tales and supernatural stories. Included here are three of her best-loved works, brimming with dry wit, perceptive irony and flawed but fascinating heroines. 
 
Miss Marjoribanks 
Lucilla Marjoribanks, a large and determined girl, returns from school with two resolves – to comfort her recently widowed father and to revolutionise society. She becomes the doyenne of Carlingford’s social circle with her Thursday soirees – but her plans are disrupted by her friends’ romances, a new arrival, the solving of a mystery and a wedding… Starring Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Oliphant and Teresa Gallagher as Lucilla. 
 
Phoebe Junior 
Phoebe Beecham has met Clarence Copperhead at a Ball in London. His wealthy father disapproves of her, and she fortuitously leaves London to visit her sick Grandmother in Carlingford. But a shock awaits her on arrival... Starring Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Oliphant and Charlotte Attenborough as Phoebe Junior. 
 
Hester 
In this deliciously sardonic tale of credit and discredit, a young woman in a 19th Century Cheshire town, having been snubbed and discarded in marriage, does something truly radical. When the family bank is in danger, she pledges her private fortune to save it – but insists on running it herself, as a single woman, in defiance of all convention. Starring Penelope Wilton as Margaret Oliphant and Lyndsey Marshal as Hester Vernon. 
 
Also included is a bonus episode of Reading Aloud, in which Gudrun Ure reads from Mrs Oliphant’s autobiography, shining a light on the tragic life of the acclaimed Scottish novelist.

Margaret Oliphant: Miss Marjoribanks, Phoebe Junior and Hester

A BBC Radio Collection

AJ Cronin

An epic BBC radio drama series set in the Welsh valleys, about medical life before the NHS 
 
Based on AJ Cronin’s award-winning 1937 novel of the same name, which partly inspired Nye Bevan to create the NHS, this gripping dramatisation centres on Andrew Manson, a newly trained GP in 1920s Wales. 
 
Young and idealistic, he is full of enthusiasm when he first arrives in the small mining village of Drineffy, where he is to work as assistant to the elderly Dr Page. But he soon encounters corruption, apathy and appalling medical practices, and becomes determined to storm the citadel of the medical establishment and make a difference. 
 
In these six series, he befriends the cynical Dr Denny and helps him to deal with a typhoid epidemic; meets the love of his life, Christine; performs a remarkable doctoring feat in a crisis; takes a new job in a larger town; becomes caught up in the 1926 miners’ strike – and makes a desperate attempt to save the life of someone close to him… 
 
Adapted by well-known scriptwriter Christopher Reason, this compelling drama about a dedicated doctor developing his career and family life against the backdrop of a country undergoing significant change stars Richard Fleeshman (Coronation Street, Call the Midwife) and George Blagden (Versailles, Vikings). 
 
 
Written by AJ Cronin 
Dramatised by Christopher Reason 
Produced by Gary Brown and Pauline Harris 
Directed by Gary Brown 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 October-3 November 2017 (Series 1) 5-9 March 2018 (Series 2), 9-13 July 2018 (Series 3), 17-21 September 2018 (Series 4), 15-19 April 2019 (Series 5), 7-11 October 2019 (Series 6)

The Citadel: Series 1-6

A BBC Radio full-cast drama

George Eliot

George Eliot's beloved story of life, love and politics in an English town 
 
A jewel in the classic literature crown, Middlemarch was selected as one of the BBC’s ‘100 Novels That Shaped Our World’. Its epic arc takes in politics, tragedy, romance and comedy, interweaving multiple narratives to make up a thrilling ensemble tale. 
 
Set in the 1830s, this ‘study of provincial life’ introduces us to young, idealistic Dorothea Brooke, who accepts a proposal from scholarly Edward Casaubon, hoping to forge a loving partnership of intellectual equals. But on honeymoon in Rome, she swiftly becomes disillusioned. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, she finds solace in her friendship with Casaubon’s cousin, Will Ladislaw – only for her controlling husband to suspect her of betrayal, and set out to test her loyalty. 
 
Meanwhile, mayor’s son Fred Vincy embarks on a steep economic learning curve, risking his burgeoning relationship with Mary Garth. When he contracts typhoid, he is treated by the town’s new medical man, Tertius Lydgate, who becomes drawn to Fred’s sister, Rosamond. Eager to win her hand, the doctor seeks help from the wealthy Mr Bulstrode – a decision he will come to regret... 
 
As their stories shift, viewpoints twist together and lives collide and realign in a compelling ‘convergence of human lots’ that shows us an entire world in microcosm. Juliet Aubrey stars as the Narrator, George Eliot, with Olivia Vinall as Dorothea, Charles Edwards as Casaubon and John Heffernan as Dr Lydgate. 
 
Also featured is a bonus edition of In Our Time, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss George Eliot’s classic novel, described by Virginia Woolf as ‘one of the few English novels written for grown-up people'. 
 
Cast and credits 
 The Narrator, George Eliot – Juliet Aubrey 
Dorothea – Olivia Vinall 
Edward Casaubon – Charles Edwards 
Dr Lydgate – John Heffernan 
Will Ladislaw – Joseph Quinn 
Arthur Brooke/Caleb Garth/Mr Trumball – Neil McCaul 
Sir James Chettam – Hugh Skinner 
Rev Farebrother – Miles Jupp 
Nicholas Bulstrode – Adrian Scarborough 
Celia – Lucy Reynolds 
Peter Featherstone/Standish/John Raffles – Clive Hayward 
Fred Vincy/Auction bidder – Will Kirk 
Rosamond – Laura Christy 
Mr Vincy/Mr Bambridge – Rick Warden 
Mrs Cadwallader/Mrs Plymdale – Jessica Turner 
Adolf Naumann/Barman – Adam Courting 
Dr Hawley/Clerk – Greg Jones 
Servant/Mrs Abel – Sinead MacInnes 
Tantripp/Mary Garth – Scarlett Courtney 
Mrs Garth – Alison Belbin 
Letty Garth – Grace Doherty 
Farmer/Mr Hopkins – Ikky Elyas 
Tertius Lydgate – John Heffernan 
Harriet Bulstrode – Rosie Cavaliero 
Mrs Vincy/Farebrother’s aunt – Heather Craney 
 
Written by George Eliot 
Adapted by Katie Hims 
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole and Tracey Neale 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 November-7 December 2019

Middlemarch

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Edith Wharton

BBC radio productions of classic works by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton - plus two bonus documentaries 
 
American author Edith Wharton is renowned for her merciless satires of marriage and money, set in the upper-class milieu into which she was born. Included here are a superb selection of her novels, short stories and plays, recorded for BBC Radio - as well as two programmes exploring her life and work. 
 
The House of Mirth - Bewitching socialite Lily Bart is hunting for a wealthy husband - but time is running out... Starring June Barrie, Carole Mowlam and Keith Alexander. 
 
Madame de Treymes - John Durham's fight for the woman he loves sparks a confrontation with a powerful and devious French family. Starring Anna Massey and Philip Voss. 
 
The Reef - Jodhi May, Sian Thomas and Ben Miles star in Edith Wharton's neglected classic following the complicated love lives of four Americans in France. 
 
The Age of Innocence - Recently engaged Newland Archer is drawn to his fiancee's cousin, the exotic, independent Countess Ellen Olenska. Starring Eleanor Bron, Ryan McCluskey and Susan Lynch. 
 
The Custom of the Country- Beautiful Undine Spragg arrives in New York, setting her sights on Ralph Marvell. But will he live up to her expectations? Starring Rebecca Night, Dan Stevens and Tom Hollander. 
 
Ethan Frome - Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Ethan Frome becomes obsessed with his wife's cousin. Dominic Mafham, Jessica Raine and Laurel Lefkow star in this tragic love story set in rural Massachusetts. 
 
The Shadow of a Doubt - Former nurse Kate Derwent carries a terrible secret. Phoebe Fox, Francesca Annis and Paul Ready star in this newly-discovered play from 1901. 
 
Great Lives: Edith Wharton - Naomi Wolf joins presenter Matthew Paris to talk about Wharton and her work. 
 
In Our Time: Edith Wharton - Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Wharton's novels of America's Gilded Age. 
 
First published 1901 (The Shadow of a Doubt), 1903 ('The Dilettante'), 1905 (The House of Mirth), 1907 (Madame de Treymes), 1910 ('Afterward'), 1911 (Ethan Frome), 1912 (The Reef), 1913 (The Custom of the Country), 1920 (The Age of Innocence)

The Edith Wharton BBC Radio Drama Collection

George Eliot’s classic Victorian epic about a brother and sister pitted against one another in love and life, starring Anna Maxwell Martin 
 
Based on George Eliot’s own rural upbringing and relationship with her estranged brother, The Mill on the Floss is a powerful, dynamic tale of familial rejection, sibling rivalry and what happens when the head confronts the heart. 
 
Growing up at Dorlcote Mill in the beautiful English countryside, young Maggie yearns for approval and affection. With her dark, striking looks and quick intelligence she is the misfit of the Tulliver family, and while her father dotes on her, her mother despairs of her rebelliousness. But it is the love of her stolid, dutiful brother Tom that Maggie craves most, and despite their opposing natures, the two forge a close bond. 
 
But as adults, their paths diverge. Following their father’s bankruptcy, Tom leaves school and enters the world of business, determined to repay the family’s debts and regain their home.Maggie, meanwhile, is drawn to two very different men: kindred spirit Philip Wakem, the son of her father's enemy, and the charming, seductive Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin, Lucy. 
 
As she struggles to reconcile passion and loyalty, the choices Maggie makes will set her against her beloved brother – with tragic consequences... 
 
This stunning adaption is full of humour and high drama, and features a rich, filmic soundscape. 
 
Also included is bonus programme Free Thinking: George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss, hosted by Shahidha Bari, in which writer Rebecca Mead, actor Fiona Shaw and academics Dafydd Mills Daniel, Philip Davis and Peggy Reynolds discuss the background to Eliot’s much-loved 1860 novel and read selected extracts. 
 
Cast 
George Eliot, the Narrator ….. Anna Maxwell Martin 
 Young Maggie ….. Amy-Jayne Leigh 
 Young Tom ….. Oliver Zetterstrom 
 Young Lucy ….. Grace Doherty 
 Mr Tulliver ….. Roger Ringrose 
 Mrs Tulliver ….. Alison Belbin 
 Maggie ….. Joanna Vanderham 
 Tom ….. Will Kirk 
 Lucy ….. Ell Potter 
 Philip ….. Chris Lew Kum Hoi 
 Stephen ….. Jack Farthing 
 Mrs Moss ….. Heather Craney 
 Mr Wakem ….. John Dougall 
 Mrs Glegg ….. Elizabeth Counsell 
 Mr Stelling ….. John Lightbody 
 Dr Kenn ….. Hasan Dixon 
 Luke/Bob ….. Kurtis Lowe 
 Keiza/Sally ….. Bettrys Jones 
 
Written by George Eliot 
Adapted by Rhiannon Tise 
Produced and directed by Tracey Neale 
Studio Managers: Keith Graham, Mike Etherden, Jenni Burnett &amp; Alison Craig 
Production Co-Ordinator: Anne Isger 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6-17 April 2020 
 
Free Thinking: George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss 
Presented by Shahidha Bari 
With Rebecca Mead, Fiona Shaw, Dafydd Mills Daniel, Philip Davis and Peggy Reynolds 
Produced by Fiona McLean

The Mill on the Floss

The classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, as heard on BBC Radio 3 – plus a bonus documentary exploring Aeschylus's seminal Greek tragedy 
 
A chilling tale of homecoming, violent death and bloody vengeance, The Oresteia dates back to the 5th Century BC, but its themes still resonate today. At once a family saga, morality tale and courtroom drama, it recounts how two generations of the cursed House of Atreus become locked into a deadly cycle of atrocities. To break the chain, their private vendetta must become public, as questions of guilt and justification are decided in the first ever homicide trial… 
 
Agamemnon 
The Trojan War is over, and conquering hero Agamemnon arrives home to Argos. But victory came at an appalling price – the sacrifice of his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. Now, his wife Clytemnestra is determined to take a grisly revenge … 
 
The Libation Bearers 
Returning from exile, Agamemnon's son Orestes vows to avenge his father’s death by murdering his killer, his own mother Clytemnestra. But where can he find the strength to carry out such a horrific deed? 
 
The Furies 
Having committed matricide, Orestes flees to Delphi. But the remorseless Furies, ancient deities of vengeance, are on his trail and baying for blood. Can the young gods Apollo and Athena save him from a terrible fate? 
 
Adapted by three of Britain’s most imaginative writers, Simon Scardifield, Ed Hime and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, these contemporary versions of Aeschylus’s trilogy are atmospheric, fast-moving and superbly accessible. The star casts include Lesley Sharp as Clytemnestra, Hugo Speer as Agamemnon and Will Howard as Orestes. 
 
Each of the plays is introduced by Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at Kings College London. 
 
Also featured is an episode of In Our Time, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how The Oresteia has fired the modern imagination, inspiring artists ranging from Richard Wagner to T. S. Eliot. 
 
Written by Aeschylus 
 
Agamemnon 
The Chorus – Arthur Hughes, Philip Jackson and Carolyn Pickles 
Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp 
Agamemnon – Hugo Speer 
Cassandra – Anamaria Marinca 
Calchas – Karl Johnson 
Aegisthus – Sean Murray 
Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller 
Herald – John Norton 
Guards – Steve Toussaint and Harry Jardine 
Adapted by Simon Scardifield 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley 
Singer: Adriana Festeu 
Sound design by Colin Guthrie 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 12 January 2014 
 
The Libation Bearers 
Orestes – Will Howard 
Electra – Joanne Froggatt 
Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp 
The Chorus – Sheila Reid, Amanda Lawrence and Carys Eleri 
Aegisthus – Sean Murray 
Cilissa – Carolyn Pickles 
Pylades – Joel MacCormack 
Servants – David Seddon and John Norton 
Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller 
Adapted by Ed Hime 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley 
Singer: Adriana Festeu 
Sound design by Cal Knightley and Colin Guthrie 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 19 January 2014 
 
The Furies 
Narrator – Niamh Cusack 
Alecto – Polly Hemingway 
Megaera – Maureen Beattie 
Tisiphone – Carolyn Pickles 
Orestes – Will Howard 
Athena – Chipo Chung 
Apollo – Joel MacCormack 
Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp 
The Pythia – Priyanga Burford 
Girl – Carys Eleri 
Judge – Sean Murray 
Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley 
Sound design by Colin Guthrie 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 January 2014 
 
In Our Time 
Presented by Melyvn Bragg 
With Edith Hall, then Professor of Greek Cultural History at Durham University; Simon Goldhill, Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge; Tom Healy, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London 
Produced by Charlie Taylor 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 2005

The Oresteia

Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Furies

Alexandre Dumas

A BBC Radio collection bringing together much-loved works by Alexandre Dumas and Alexandre Dumas fils, starring Timothy Spall, Anton Lesser, Iain Glen, Ruth Wilson and Dan Stevens. 
 
Alexandre Dumas père and fils are among the most popular and widely read authors in French literature, whose works have been adapted numerous times for stage, screen and radio. This BBC radio collection brings together three of their most famous tales of chivalry, heroism and romance. 
 
The Three Musketeers 
In this immortal tale of intrigue and derring-do, dashing young swordsman D’Artagnan and three members of King Louis XIII’s elite royal guard – Athos, Porthos and Aramis – embark on a series of adventures full of duelling, danger, courage and camaraderie. 
 
The Count of Monte Cristo 
Marseilles, 1815. Nineteen-year-old seaman Edmond Dantès is engaged to the beautiful Mercédès and about to be promoted to Captain. But his luck runs out when three acquaintances betray him, and he is condemned to fourteen years’ solitary confinement in the Chateau D'If. Escaping the notorious prison, Dantès plots his enemies’ destruction. His revenge will prove devastating… 
 
The Lady of the Camellias 
Written by Alexandre Dumas fils, this poignant tale of doomed love tells the story of Marguerite Gautier, a Parisian courtesan who goes on a journey through worldliness, romance, renunciation and atonement, thanks to a passionate affair with young Armand Duval. 
 
The Three Musketeers 
Written by Alexandre Dumas 
 
D'Artagnan – Jamie Glover 
Athos – Robert Glenister 
Porthos – Timothy Spall 
Aramis – Anton Lesser 
D'Artagnan’s father – James Taylor 
Jussac/Des Essarts – David Jarvis 
De Treville – Malcolm Ward 
King – Nicholas Boulton 
Planchet – Dominic Letts 
Bonacieux – Norman Bird 
Musketeer/Rochefort – Michael Onslow 
Narrator – John Rowe 
Madame Bonacieux – Helena Breck 
Duke of Buckingham – Michael Cochrane 
Queen – Teresa Gallagher 
Cardinal Richelieu – Julian Glover 
Magistrate – John Evitts 
Warder/Grimaud – Tom Bevan 
Bazin – David Rowan 
De Wardes – Kim Wall 
Milady de Winter – Imelda Staunton 
Lord de Winter – Gareth Armstrong 
Felton – Lyndam Gregory 
With Rachel Atkins, Nicholas Murchie, Peter Kenny, Frances Jeater and Stuart Organ 
Dramatised by James Saunders 
Produced and directed by Martin Jenkins 
 
The Count of Monte Cristo 
Written by Alexandre Dumas 
 
Edmond Dantes – Iain Glen 
Haydee – Jane Lapotaire 
Abbe Faria – Richard Johnson 
Monsieur Morrell/Operator – Robert Blythe 
Danglars – Toby Jones 
Fernand de Morcerf – Zubin Varla 
Caderousse – Ben Crowe 
Jacopo – Joe Sims 
Captain Patin – Patrick Brennan 
Albert de Morcerf/Antoine/Andrea Cavalcanti – Will Howard 
Claude/Coachman/Bertuccio/Banker – Paul Stonehouse 
Max Morrell – Adam Nagaitis 
Mathilde– Liza Sadovy 
Julie Morrell/Eugenie Danglars – Eleanor Crooks 
Younger Haydee – Amber Rose Revah 
Gerard de Villefort – Paul Rhys 
Mercédès de Morcerf – Josette Simon 
Heloise de Villefort – Kate Fleetwood 
General Noirtier – Karl Johnson 
Hermine Danglars – Stephanie Racine 
Valentine de Villefort – Lizzy Watts 
Madame Lascelles/Actor – Sarah Thom 
Edourd de Villefort – Finn Monteath 
Adapted for radio by Sebastian Baczkiewicz 
Produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer and Sasha Yevtushenko 
Music by David Tobin and Jeff Meegan 
 
The Lady of the Camellias 
Written by Alexandre Dumas fils 
 
Marguerite – Ruth Wilson 
Duval – Dan Stevens 
Dumas – Joseph Kloska 
Marguerite's sister/Prudence/Maid – Manon Edwards 
Gravedigger/Ernest/Count – Dick Bradnum 
Gaston/Porter – Keiron Self 
Duval Senior – Steffan Rhodri 
Olympe – Lynne Seymour 
Adapted by Frances Byrnes 
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas

The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo & The Lady of the Camellias

Three BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

Michael Bakewell

A seven-part BBC radio dramatisation of Mrs Henry Wood’s sensational Victorian bestseller, suffused with infidelity and double identities 
 
Lord Mount Severn's country seat, East Lynne, is magnificent – but its owner is penniless, and when the noble lord dies suddenly, his daughter is left destitute. To avoid misery and humiliation, Lady Isabel accepts a proposal of marriage from Mr Carlyle, the new owner of the estate. However, she soon finds herself battling with two strong emotions: her jealousy of her husband’s friend Barbara Hare, and her attraction to the handsome Captain Levison. 
 
Suspecting Carlyle of infidelity, she takes drastic action and leaves her husband and children to run away with Levison – only to realise he has no intention of marrying her. No sooner has Lady Isabel been betrayed by her wicked suitor than she is left unrecognisably disfigured by a terrible train crash. With her life in ruins, she adopts a new name and heads back to the place she once called home – East Lynne… 
 
Adapted by Michael Bakewell, this much-loved melodrama stars Rosemary Leach as Mrs Henry Wood, Moir Leslie as Lady Isabel, David Collings as Mr Carlyle and Anthony Edridge as Francis Levison. 
Written by Mrs Henry Wood 
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell 
Directed by Richard Johnson 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 June-26 July 1987

East Lynne

M. R. James

Spine-tingling stories by M. R. James, plus a chilling original drama and two bonus programmes about his life and work 
 
M. R. James was the master of the uncanny. His classic supernatural stories have haunted readers for over a century, and been adapted countless times for radio, TV and film. 
 
This collection features dramatisations of twelve of his most popular stories – The Mezzotint; Casting the Runes; The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral; A Warning to the Curious; Rats; Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad; The Tractate Middoth; Lost Hearts; The Rose Garden; Number 13; Martin’s Close and Count Magnus. Among the star-studded casts are Mark Gatiss, Derek Jacobi, James D’Arcy, Anton Lesser, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Donald Wolfit. 
 
Also included are a trio of readings by Benjamin Whitrow: Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook; A School Story and The Haunted Dolls’ House. 
 
Neil Brand’s disturbing drama The Haunting of M. R. James, starring Mark Gatiss and Fenella Woolgar, sees horrific events from James’s own stories echoed in reality. 
 
The life of M. R. James is discussed by Muriel Gray and Christopher Frayling in an episode of biography series Great Lives, presented by Humphrey Carpenter. Finally, in a fascinating documentary – The Ghosts of M.R. James – Michell Raper examines the author’s life and work, with readings from several of his stories. 
 
Running Order: 
The Mezzotint 
Casting the Runes 
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral 
A Warning to the Curious 
Rats 
Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad 
The Tractate Middoth 
Lost Hearts 
The Rose Garden 
Number 13 
Canon Alberic's Scrapbook 
A School Story 
The Haunted Doll's House 
Martin's Close 
Count Magnus 
The Haunting of M. R. James 
Great Lives: M. R. James 
The Ghosts of M. R. James

The M. R. James BBC Radio Collection

Dramatisations and readings of his classic ghost stories

Tom Jamieson

Nev Fountain

The complete Series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio comedy set in an 18th century Cornish village. 
 
In the first series, Tamsyn Trelawny's band of 18th century Cornish smugglers try to outwit customs officers, a hairy folk band helps Tamsyn and the Cornish smugglers to escape the law and Tamsyn tries to keep her love-life out of the scandal rags. Also, when a new rival appears in town, Tamsyn tries to quit then, finally, Tamsyn joins customs men to stop Courageous Kate from marrying her dad. 
 
In the second series, smuggler Tamsyn Trelawny wants to win 'Peasants Personality of the Year', her head is turned by hunky new band of outlaws 'Boyz 2 Rob' and Tamsyn tries to escape from the clutches of French revolutionaries. It’s also Jesters' Relief Week - but must Cornish smuggler Tamsyn raise funds for Devonians? Also, smuggler Jago is kidnapped. But can he survive in polite city society? And, lastly, there’s a surprise for Tamsyn - and confusion aboard a boat to France. 
 
 Written by Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain and produced by Jan Ravens. Elephants to Catch Eels stars Lucy Speed in the first series and Sheridan Smith in the second.

Elephants to Catch Eels

The Complete Series 1-2

Tennessee Williams

Anastasia Hille stars as Amanda Wingfield and George MacKay as her son Tom in BBC Radio 3’s landmark production of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece 
 
Tennessee Williams's iconic play tells the story of a family trapped in their own unhappy situation and the shattering of their quiet existence when is stranger is brought home. 
 
Tom shares the cramped and claustrophobic tenement home with his over-bearing mother, Amanda and painfully shy sister, Laura. He works in a warehouse but dreams of becoming a poet, escaping his mundane life. Laura hides at home lacking the confidence to engage meaningfully with the outside world, preferring instead to lose herself in her collection of fragile glass animals. Amanda sells magazine subscriptions over the phone and commits herself to finding a match for her daughter. One day, Tom succumbs to his mother's pressure and brings home a gentleman caller… 
 
Creating a dream-like atmosphere, The Glass Menagerie has remained one of Williams’ most touching, tender and painful works. 
 
Tennessee Williams's drama is one of the most loved and well-known stage plays of the 20th century. It won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1945 and paved the way for Williams to become one of America’s most highly regarded playwrights. 
 
The Glass Menagerie is introduced by John Lahr, author of the acclaimed biography Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh. 
 
Cast: 
Amanda . . . . . Anastasia Hille 
Tom . . . . . George MacKay 
Laura . . . . . Patsy Ferran 
Jim . . . . . Sope Dirisu 
Directed and produced by Sasha Yevtushenko 
 
Sound design by Peter Ringrose and Caleb Knightley. 
Production co-ordinator: Mabel Wright 
 
Music for violin arranged and performed by Bogdan Vacarescu

The Glass Menagerie

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast production

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift's classic satire, in a brand new dramatisation starring Arthur Darvill (Rory from BBC Television's Doctor Who) 
 
Gulliver is shipwrecked on the Island of Lilliput where the natives are tiny people living in a miniature society. With his unique overview of this realm, Gulliver discovers a world of petty politics and small minds. Coerced into a war between two nations who disagree on the best way to eat boiled eggs, Gulliver finds himself betrayed by friends and battered by enemies - escape is his only option if he wants to survive! 
 
Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput are hilarious, disturbing and profound. This is a story of dishonest politicians, mindless ceremony and wars based on unconvincing arguments. A satire as potent now as it ever was!

Gulliver's Travels

Arnold Bennett

Neil Dudgeon and Tim McInnerny star in this epic tale of money, passion and defiance, inspired by the 'Five Towns' novels of Arnold Bennett 
 
In this radical reinterpretation of Arnold Bennett's classic novels set in the Staffordshire potteries, it's the 19th Century and the Industrial Revolution is at full throttle. Only the ruthless thrive in this uncompromising world - and Ephraim Tellwright and Darius Clayhanger are both determined to succeed. 
 
From humble beginnings, these two self-made men have risen to become wealthy and powerful. Now, they hold the fate of the Five Towns in their hands, passing judgement on those who put the prosperity and reputation of their community at risk... 
 
Over 10 hours and almost 40 years, we follow them, their descendants, and the inhabitants of Bursley and the Five Towns, as individuals rise, fall, flourish, age, and see the world around them become unrecognisable, transformed by new technology. Fortunes are lost, hearts broken, empires built and compromises made. 
 
These tales of aspiration and passion, damage and danger are told with Bennett's forensic eye for human psychology and a surprising degree of witty comedy, and feature a star cast including Emma Cunniffe, Kate O'Flynn, Don Gilet and Rebekah Staton.

China Towns: Based on the Five Towns Novels

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

Emile Zola

Glenda Jackson stars in this award-winning BBC Radio series, inspired by literature's greatest ever whistleblower, Émile Zola, and his epic saga of the Rougon-Macquart family 
 
 ‘Unmissable’ Daily Telegraph 
 
 First published between 1870 and 1893, Émile Zola’s 20-book cycle chronicling four generations of the Rougon-Macquarts was a shocking exposé of the decadence, degradation and moral decay of 19th-century France. It included some of his greatest novels, among them his masterpiece, Germinal. 
 
 These innovative, ambitious dramas, first broadcast on Radio 4 over 24 hours in 2015-16, is a radical reimagining of Zola’s classic series, introducing us to 104-year-old matriarch, Dide, imprisoned in an asylum in southern France. Trapped, but omniscient, she broods over her ‘family of wolves’. As a young woman, she gave birth to two dynasties that exemplified French society. One legitimate – rich, powerful, obsessive and corrupt. The other illegitimate – poor, vulnerable, weak and depraved. 
 
 In these three seasons, themed around blood, sex and money, we come to know the members of her extended family intimately – the good, the bad and the misguided. As we follow their highs and lows, we are taken deep into the heart of France’s ‘Second Empire’ and drawn into the tragic, farcical reign of Napoleon III as it marches forward towards a modern, industrialised society. 
 
 This groundbreaking series won Best Drama at the BBC Radio and Music Awards 2016 and Best Adaptation at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2017, and boasts a star cast including Robert Lindsay, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Holliday Grainger, Samuel West, Anna Maxwell Martin, Paul McGann, Georgina Campbell, Jack Lowden and Alison Steadman. 
 
 Also included is a 30-minute bonus programme, The Life and Work of Émile Zola, in which Glenda Jackson travels to Paris to discover how Zola’s experience and the physical and cultural landscape in which he lived influenced his great novels. 
 
Written by Émile Zola 
Dramatised by Dan Rebellato, Oliver Emanuel, Martin Jameson and Lavinia Murray 
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris, Polly Thomas, Kirsty Williams, Nadia Molinari and Gary Brown 
Executive Producer: Melanie Harris 
Series Producer: Susan Roberts 
Sound designer: Eloise Whitmore 
 
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4

Blood, Sex and Money

A BBC Radio 4 serialisation of Zola's epic saga

D.H. Lawrence

Dramatisations and readings of selected works by DH Lawrence – plus a radio play by Dan Allum and two bonus documentaries exploring Lawrence’s life and writings 
 
Crowned ‘the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation’ by EM Forster, DH Lawrence has an undisputed place in England's canon of great authors. In this wide-ranging collection, dramatisations and readings of some of his major works are brought together, exploring themes such as romantic love and sexual desire, individual freedom, class division, war, the beauty of nature and the ugliness of industrialisation. 
 
This rich and varied anthology contains the radio productions of five of Lawrence’s classic novels, and nine short stories and novellas. It includes: Goose Fair, The Christening, Daughters of the Vicar, Her Turn, Love Among the Haystacks, The Shades of Spring, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, The Fox, The Ladybird, Kangaroo, Rawdon’s Roof and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. 
 
Also featured is an original radio drama by Dan Allum, The Gypsy (inspired by Lawrence’s The Virgin and the Gypsy), while two bonus radio documentaries – Great Lives and Michael Rosen: On the Trail of DH Lawrence – provide further insight into the inner life of the controversial author. 
 
Due to the archive nature of these recordings, sound quality may vary. 
With thanks to Keith Wickham, Greg Linden and Roy McMillan.

D. H. Lawrence: A BBC Radio Collection

14 dramatisations and radio readings including Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow and Women in Love

E. M. Forster

Dramatisations and readings of EM Forster’s finest works, plus Stephen Wakelam’s radio play A Dose of Fame and the documentary feature Forster in India: Sex, Books and Empire 
 
One of the greatest English novelists of the 20th century, EM Forster was also an accomplished short story writer. This collection includes stunning adaptations of his classic novels A Passage to India, Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View and Howards End. Among the star casts are Penelope Wilton, Ellie Kendrick, Sian Thomas, Emilia Fox, Sheila Hancock and John Hurt. 
 
Also featured are four of his short tales – ‘The Story of the Siren’ (read by Dan Stevens), ‘The Road from Colonus’ (read by Andrew Sachs), ‘The Obelisk’ (read by Ruth Wilson) and ‘Ansell’ (read by Peter Kenny). 
 
Forster’s posthumous novel, Maurice, is dramatised with a full cast and stars Alex Wyndham and Bertie Carvel, while Stephen Wakelam’s drama A Dose of Fame, starring Stephen Campbell Moore as Forster, sees the author grappling with a mysterious death, his own sexuality and an idea for his next novel. 
 
In addition, Zareer Masani presents a revealing Radio 3 profile exploring Forster’s literature, love life and personal passage to India.

E. M. Forster: A BBC Radio Collection

Twelve dramatisations and readings including A Passage to India, A Room with a View and Howards End

William Makepeace Thackeray

Al Murray stars in this anarchic BBC radio reboot of Thackeray’s groundbreaking satirical novel 
 
Comedian Al Murray plays his great-great-great grandfather William Makepeace Thackeray as the unreliable narrator in this radical makeover of his ancestor’s celebrated satire on class, sex, money, hypocrisy and snobbery in nineteenth-century England. 
 
As the curtain rises on our ‘story without a hero’, moneyless Becky Sharp leaves school with her upper-class best friend Amelia Sedley. Clever, cunning and ambitious, Becky is determined to make her way in Regency society – and she’ll trample on anyone who gets in her way. 
 
When her plan to marry Amelia’s brother Jos falls through, she snares the aristocratic Rawdon Crawley – but her hopes of riches are dashed when the couple are disinherited by his wealthy aunt. Meanwhile, Amelia marries the dashing George Osborne, breaking the heart of her devoted admirer, William Dobbin. 
 
But war is fast approaching, and as Napoleon advances towards Waterloo, where will the winds of destiny blow our players? And will the ever-resourceful Becky succeed in achieving her desires? 
 
Pacey, contemporary, fresh and funny, this sparkling dramatisation features Ellie White as Becky, Helen O’Hara as Amelia, Blake Ritson as Rawdon, Rupert Hill as George, Thom Tuck as Jos and Graeme Hawley as Dobbin. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Thackeray (narrator)……………………Al Murray 
Becky Sharp……………………Ellie White 
Amelia Sedley……………………Helen O’Hara 
Rawdon Crawley……………………Blake Ritson 
Jos Sedley……………………Thom Tuck 
George Osborne……………………Rupert Hill 
Dobbin……………………Graeme Hawley 
Mrs Sedley/Mrs Bute/Aunty Crawley/Jane/Rawdon Junior……………………Emma Gregory 
Mr Sedley/Sir Pitt/Lord Steyne……………………Jonathan Keeble 
Mr Osborne/Bute/General Tufto……………………Malcolm Raeburn 
Pitt……………………Lloyd Peters 
Lady Bareacres/Miss Briggs/George Junior……………………Fiona Clarke 
 
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray 
Dramatised by Jim Poyser, with additional material by Al Murray 
A BBC Radio Drama North production 
Produced and directed by Gary Brown 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 May-9 June 2019

Vanity Fair

J. M. Barrie

Four of JM Barrie’s finest plays, plus two documentaries exploring the history of Peter Pan

J. M Barrie

Peter Pan and other BBC Radio plays

James Joyce

Gordon Bowker

Three BBC radio productions of major works by James Joyce – plus Gordon Bowker’s fascinating biographical account of his life 
 
Ulysses 
In this full-cast dramatisation of Joyce’s epic modernist novel, the stories of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom combine as they meander through Dublin in the course of one day, 16 June 1904. Andrew Scott stars as Stephen, with Henry Goodman as Bloom, Niamh Cusack as Molly Bloom and Stephen Rea as the Narrator. 
 
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 
An abridged reading of James Joyce's autobiographical masterpiece portraying the adolescence of Stephen Dedalus, who must question the culture and religion of his native land before he can break free to become an artist. Read by Andrew Scott. 
 
Dubliners 
This abridged collection of fifteen naturalistic tales depicts an array of characters from childhood, through adolescence, to maturity. Stories of love, loss, friendship, marriage, politics and family combine to create a unified world and a celebration of a city. Read by Stephen Rea. 
 
James Joyce – A Biography 
Gordon Bowker’s comprehensive study explores Joyce’s years spent in exile in Europe, and examines how his life shaped his genius. Read by Jim Norton, with Andrew Scott as the voice of Joyce.

The James Joyce BBC Radio Collection

Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man & Dubliners

Catherine Louisa Perkis

L Meade

Anna Greene

Wilkie Collins

A series of BBC Radio short stories, comprising of classic and period dramas featuring four female sleuths to rival Sherlock Holmes himself. 
 
The Redhill Sisterhood by Catherine Louisa Pirkis 
Autumn,1897. Victorian undercover agent Loveday Brooke investigates some suspicious nuns who appear to have forsaken their vows – and turned to burglary. 
 
Mr Bovey’s Unexpected Will by LT Meade and Robert Eustace 
Brilliant, beautiful Miss Florence Cusack is one of Victorian London’s most respected consulting detectives. Here, she investigates the extraordinary case of a man whose fate depends on his weight in gold. 
 
The Golden Slipper by Anna Katharine Green 
Vivacious debutante Violet Strange sparkles in New York society – but leads a secret life as a professional agency detective. In this case from 1910, she investigates 'The Inseparables', four wealthy young women suspected of a series of thefts. 
 
The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins 
In this sensational Gothic tale from the author of The Woman in White and The Moonstone, new bride Valeria Woodville sets out to clear her husband of murdering his first wife. 
 
Starring Gayanne Potter as Loveday Brooke, Elizabeth Conboy as Florence Cusack, Teresa Gallagher as Violet Strange and Abigail Docherty as Valeria Woodville.

The Lady Detectives

Four BBC Radio 4 crime dramatisations

Code Red

Commissaire Adamsberg

Confessions

Confessions of a Working Girl

Conversations from a Long Marriage

Cosy Colouring

County Cup

Coven of Bones

Crash Bang Wallop

Crazy House

Crimson Lake Series

Critical Role

Cross My Heart

The Crossfire series is a quintet that follows the emotional and romantic journey taken by Gideon Cross and Eva Tramell. A number one internationally bestselling series, the Crossfire books are available in forty territories . . . and counting.

Crossfire

Crown

Cruel is the Light

Detective Harry Virdee should be at home with his wife, but he's been suspended from work just as the biggest case of the year lands on what would have been his desk. He can't keep himself away . . . 
 
Luther meets The Wire in this gritty crime series set in Bradford.

D.I. Harry Virdee

DC Icons

London has a new detective - DC Max Wolfe is on the hunt and he means to get his man, whatever the consequences…

DC Max Wolfe

DC Super Hero Girls

DCI Daley Thrillers

DI Eve Hunter

DI Fawley

DI Helen Grace Novellas

Crumpled, slapdash and foul-mouthed as ever, Detective Inspector Jack Frost struggles to cope with inadequate back-up and never enough time; the unsolved crimes pile up and the vicious killings go on. Frost must cut corners and take risks as he staggers from crisis to crisis, rapists to murderers, missing bodies to discovered body parts; will he be able to keep Denton safe?

DI Jack Frost

Prepare to be gripped by this prequel series to R.D. Wingfield's A Touch of Frost. 
 
Back in Denton, Detective Sergeant Jack Frost returns to investigating murders, finding missing children, and discovering dead bodies in woodland areas. With Detective Inspector Williams missing, and a new policeman, DS Waters, to mentor, DS Jack Frost has to put the stresses and straings of his personal life on hold in order to keep Denton safe.

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